The Jubilee shines under the sun of Ecuador!

It was with great pleasure that I received this story from my colleague Normand Comte, Program Officer in the International Programs Department. He just returned from Quito, the capital of Ecuador, where a continental meeting of partners was held, from November 14 to 19, on the theme of citizen participation. Thus, 23 people representing 18 partners (ranging from the oldest, FASE from Brazil, a partner since the 1970s, to the most recent, Fundatiòn ERIC) gathered to discuss mining, farming, indigenous, women, popular education and human rights. An extensive program for these three days of meeting!

Normand took the opportunity to return to his early line of work by organizing a special animation activity to talk about our 50th anniversary. His goal was for our partners to integrate into our celebrations by sharing the highlights of their relationship with our organization over the past 50 years. He first showed the timeline to the assembly and asked each organization to position itself on this line through its relationship with Development and Peace. Then everyone shared what this special relationship brought him. This resulted in a general feeling of great solidarity, a common vision of the world and a willingness to be involved in the process of change in order to achieve a better world.

All this ended with a great feast, an aboriginal celebration (a ritual to thank Pachamama, Mother Earth), allowing all the participants to reconnect with their very essence in order to continue their commitment respecting the natural elements and all living beings. Another way to say thank you to Development and Peace and to celebrate its 50 years of solidarity!